The invention relates to an apparatus for reproducing information recorded on a record carrier, the information comprising a plurality of items which are disposed on the record carrier at predetermined locations within a single, continuous time sequence. The apparatus is capable of reproducing the recorded items in accordance with a user's preferred sequence (i.e., order).
The invention also relates to an apparatus for recording information on a record carrier, and to a combined recording and reproducing apparatus. Still further, the invention relates to record carriers which are used and/or produced by the aforementioned apparatus.
An apparatus of the type set forth in the opening paragraph is known, for example, in the form of a Compact-Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) player, the record carrier in that case being an optically readable disc containing coded digital data representing one or more audio signals. Audio information is stored in a continuous time sequence along a single spiral track with parts of the recording identified conveniently by a subcode stored on the disc in parallel with audio data. The subcode indicates, during playback, a current track number (for example to identify a single piece of music), an index (identifying a smaller section within a track) and values giving elapsed time from the start of the disc (absolute time) and from the start of the track (relative time).
Codes capable of identifying the items referred to in the opening paragraph can be entered by a user via a key pad to select individual items to be played. The codes may identify the items by track number, by track number plus index or by specifying elapsed time coordinates. These three options offer successively increasing freedom in choosing the items to be played, but at the cost of increased complexity of operation for the user and a more expensive player.
There is a continuing demand for features in such equipment which allow the user more freedom to control the operation of the player. Consequently, some players incorporate features such as a program memory so that the user can select a number of items in advance. Such features are provided in recognition of the fact that users will often not wish to hear all of the items recorded on the record carrier and/or may wish to reproduce them in a different order to that in which they are recorded.
At a further level of sophistication, N. V. Philips' Gloeilampenfabrieken have produced CD-DA players incorporating features which are designated "Favorite Track Selection" or FTS. One example is available in model number CD-650 and allows a user's preferred list of track numbers to be stored for each of a number of different records. The FTS feature is described in detail in EP-A-0169597. This known player, with FTS, has a non-volatile memory in which it stores the user's preferred lists of track numbers for a number of record carriers (Compact Discs). Each list has a header containing a code made by selecting arbitrary bytes from the data stored on the disc. For all practical purposes, the code is unique to each disc and is used to identify whether a disc loaded into the player is one for which a preferred sequence has been stored. Thus, the user, whose favorite tracks on a particular pre-recorded disc will generally not change from day, to day can hear the preferred sequence of tracks every time he/she plays that disc without having to re-program the sequence every time.
While the programming facilities have been described above in the context of Compact-Disc Digital Audio, it will be appreciated that such facilites can be provided for users of any recording medium where the player can access items from different parts of the record at random, including audio and video recording media. This is particularly the case with digital recording systems where time codes or other address information are recorded automatically with the signal data.
Whereas the present Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) system does not provide for users to record their own programe material onto an optical disc, there are other systems where the apparatus comprises recording and reproducing means. The best-known examples are magnetic tape cassette recorders for analog audio and video recording, the newly-available Digital Audio Tape (DAT), digital video recording and erasable Compact Disc.